KIDDERMINSTER Library is going green after Worcestershire County Council installed solar panels on its roof.

The council hopes the newly-installed eco-friendly equipment, which cost just over £19,000, will be able to generate 8,330 kWh of electricity each year from a clean and renewable source.

That means less energy has to be paid for from the national grid and the panels will also make money through the Feed-In Tariff scheme.

The scheme was introduced in April, 2010 as the main financial incentive to encourage people to install renewable electricity-generating technology, including solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectricity.

Conservative county councillor Anthony Blagg, cabinet member with responsibility for environment, said: “Sustainability is an important objective for Worcestershire County Council.

“We are conscious of making a real difference, where possible, to the environment and to the greener credentials of Worcestershire as a whole.”

The council has also installed solar panels on the roof of Redditch Library and said the system should pay for itself in about nine years time as the payback will be about £2,234 a year.